TEMPE - Arizona State University water polo freshman Alkistis Benekou (Athens, Greece) was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week, as announced by the league office on Monday evening.

Benekou accumulated 13 goals in four games (3.25 GPG), as the Sun Devils took third-place at the UCSD Triton Invitational this past weekend. She topped out with five goals vs. No. 19 Hartwick in the opener, and finished with four in the consolation final win vs. No. 11 Loyola Marymount.

Nine games into her career, Benekou enters the week ranking second in the MPSF in scoring average (3.22 GPG). She has scored three or more goals in seven of the team’s nine games this season and currently leads the squad with 29 goals.

Only approximately a third of the way into the 2014 season - and thus, her career -Benekou already has had five or more goals in two games.

Benekou is already just one goal shy of climbing into the top-10 for freshman single season goals and – at her current clip – will make a valiant push at Olympian Rowie Webster’s school record 63 goals as a freshman.

It was the first time this season that a Sun Devil has earned the honor and the first Newcomer of the Week award since E.B. Keeve earned the honor on March 4 last season.

The Sun Devils will return to action in two weeks at the UCI Invitational in Irvine, Calif., beginning Feb. 22.